贵妇人 (guì fù rén) — noblewoman, lady of high social status (wealthy and prominent)

Definition

noun
noblewomanlady of high social status (wealthy and prominent)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 贵妇人。
    Nà wèi guì fù rén chuān zhuó huá lì de sī chóu qí páo.
    That noblewoman wore a gorgeous silk cheongsam.
  • 贵妇人。
    Xiǎo shuō lǐ de guì fù rén xíng xiàng zǒng shì yōu yǎ ér gāo guì.
    The noblewoman characters in novels are always elegant and noble.
  • 贵妇人。
    Zhè wèi guì fù rén jīng cháng zī zhù pín kùn xué shēng.
    This lady of high status often sponsors poor students.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

贵guìnoble
妇人woman
妇fùwoman人rénperson
偏正Modifier + head

贵 (noble) and 妇人 (woman) together mean a woman of high status.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 貴; 贵 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèimoney cowrie
Sound part声符shēngfú
臾
臾yú貴guì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 貴 uses 貝, a money cowrie, for meaning and 臾 for sound. The simplified 贵 is a later shorthand, and its parts are not the old parts.

Open 贵 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 婦; 妇 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
女女nǚwoman
Sound part声符shēngfú
帚
帚zhǒu婦fù
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 婦 pairs 女 (woman) with 帚 (broom), and the Shuowen reads it as a woman holding a broom. The simplified 妇 is a shorthand.

Open 妇 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 人 shows a side view of a standing person, with an arm and a leg.

Open 人 →

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